Simply two weeks in the past, Taylor Swift’s music wasn’t (formally) accessible on TikTok.
Now, the ByteDance-owned app seems to be forming a key a part of the famous person artist’s advertising marketing campaign for her newest album, The Tortured Poets Division (TTPD), which is out immediately (April 19).
TikTok has launched an in-app expertise for Taylor Swift’s new album that it says consists of a number of “first-of-its-kind options”, the place Swift followers can “dive into the album with playlists to create with” in addition to challenges to unlock unique paintings for his or her profile.
It’s not unusual for artists to make use of TikTok as a part of their campaigns to advertise new albums after all. What makes this announcement so attention-grabbing is that it arrives just a little over per week since Swift’s music began to reappear on the platform.
Previous to final week, and since February/March, Swift’s music had been absent on TikTok, together with music from different Common Music Group-affiliated stars, corresponding to Drake, Ariana Grande, and Camila Cabello, whose music continues to be (formally) unavailable on TikTok.
That’s due to Common Music Group’s ongoing licensing dispute with TikTok over the app’s compensation for artists and songwriters, and considerations about TikTok’s use of AI.
On March 1, Common Music Publishing’s catalog of over 4 million songs grew to become unlicensed to be used on TikTok, becoming a member of UMG’s portfolio of over 3 million recordings, whose license on TikTok expired (up to now with out renewal) on February 1.
Swift has each recording and publishing agreements with UMG. UMG’s Republic Information is Swift’s label within the US, and she or he signed a deal with Common Music Publishing Group in 2020.
As we defined final week, nevertheless, Swift is, at this level, very notable within the music business for the weird quantity of management she has over her personal music.
Because the Hollywood Reporter famous, Swift has owned the publishing rights to her songs since 2019; in the meantime, Selection speculated that TikTok seemingly “reached a separate cope with Swift,” as she owns a lot of her personal grasp recordings.
Since becoming a member of TikTok in 2021, Taylor Swift has amassed a following of greater than 25.3 million followers and has earned greater than 223.7 million likes throughout her content material.
TikTok reviews that hashtags associated to the singer “proceed to garner excessive engagement”, with the #SwiftTok hashtag rising to over 2.4 million movies creations and #TaylorsVersion incomes greater than 2 million movies.
MBW identified in this Reacts column revealed a number of days in the past that Ariana Grande’s Everlasting Sunshine, launched in March through UMG’s Republic Information, didn’t seem on TikTok, and nonetheless landed at No.1 on the Billboard 200. It additionally hit No.1 within the UK, Australia, Eire, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand and Canada.
In line with TikTok, through the brand new Taylor Swift in-app expertise, followers even have the chance to be featured in a Fan Highlight carousel through the use of the hashtag #THETORTUREDPOETSDEPARTMENT.
The app’s customers can uncover the Taylor Swift in-app expertise by unlocking “particular entry factors” corresponding to a fan-exclusive TTPD icon throughout their ‘For You’ Feed, or by looking out Taylor Swift on TikTok – the place a Tortured Poets Division-inspired animation seems.
The in-app expertise seems to utilize TikTok’s ‘Add to Music App’ function.
The software was launched within the UK and US in November and lets TikTok customers save songs they uncover through TikTok on the streaming companies the place they take heed to their music, together with Spotify and Apple Music.
In February, the function noticed a mass roll-out in an extra 163 nations. Final month, TikTok’s ‘Add to Music App’ function expanded to Brazil and Indonesia, the place its Spotify rival TikTok Music is offered.
Elsewhere, on April 18th, 2024, Taylor Swift‘s new album grew to become probably the most pre-saved album Countdown Web page in Spotify historical past.
Followers who pre-save albums on Spotify get a push notification once they’re launched, and Spotify routinely provides the album to their library on launch day.
Spotify says that, on common, practically 70% of customers who pre-save an album take heed to it in week one. Beginning this previous Monday (April 15), Taylor Swift revealed particulars from the brand new album completely with Spotify.Music Enterprise Worldwide